


ACD vs. BBC: This is a Pointless Argument

by wellthengameover



Series: Sherlock Meta [22]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Arthur Conan Doyle Canon References, Meta, Other, Sherlock Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:44:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5257757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellthengameover/pseuds/wellthengameover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>BBC is not very similar to ACD at all, so assuming Mofftisson wouldn’t deviate from ACD is illogical.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ACD vs. BBC: This is a Pointless Argument

I’ve had a couple people say things like “Jim can’t be alive and Mary can’t be Moran and Johnlock can’t happen because those are too big a deviation from ACD canon,” so I thought I’d address that.

Let’s list the huge deviations from ACD canon they’ve done already:

  * **Mycroft is a major character** (in ACD, he’s in 2 stories, and only a bit in those)
  * **Jim is a major character** (in ACD, he’s only in 1 story, plus mentioned in another one)
  * Sherlock and Mycroft have **parents** (in ACD, they’re never mentioned)
  * Totally **rewritten John** ’s character – and [they admit it](http://skulls-and-tea.tumblr.com/post/107529037326/interviewer-was-it-difficult-getting-the)
  * Totally **rewritten Jim** ’s character (in ACD, he was basically just motivated by money and was much calmer and less amusing and less crazy, more like General Shan)
  * **John’s wife shot and (temporarily) killed Sherlock** – this is not a 21st century update; they could’ve made Mary a major character withouthaving her shoot Sherlock
  * **Jim is obsessed with Sherlock** (in ACD, he’s only angry because Holmes is foiling his operation)



These are not updates for the 21st century or little twists on canon; these are fundamental changes. Having Sherlock text instead of sending telegrams is an update for the 21st century. Having Mary be a major character is an update for the 21st century. Having Sherlock and Mycroft’s relationship be a major feature is not. It’s an artistic choice Mofftisson made simply because they wanted to. They didn’t have to do that. They wanted to do that. And it’s a big change from ACD. 

## Jim being alive, Mary being Moran, or Johnlock happening are no bigger deviations from ACD than the bullet points above, which they’ve already done.

Then there are two even more significant changes from ACD:

  * ACD Sherlock Holmes stories are **episodic** – basically the same thing happens in every one; they don’t build on each other. You can read them out of order and it still works. In BBC, you wouldn’t understand what was happening if you watched TRF before TGG or any other combination.
  * Sherlock has **character development** in BBC.There’s no real character development in ACD. In BBC, Sherlock’s relationships with the other major characters changes because Sherlock changes. In ACD, he mostly doesn’t.



_These are not changes that they had to make. These are changes that they wanted to make._ Granada Holmes follows the episodic pattern and there’s not much character development. So clearly Mofftisson are _not_ making a strict adaption of ACD like Granada did. That means they can do whatever the hell they want, and clearly they have already done whatever the hell they want, judging by the first set of bullet points.

This is what Mark Gatiss has to say about ACD vs. BBC:

> “ **Just because it’s in the [original Conan Doyle] stories doesn’t mean it’ll happen in the [Sherlock] series** , because **there’s an awful lot of changes** and an awful lot of places to go and things to do. […] It should be clear by now that while, of course, Doyle is our absolute god, **we have gone quite a long way away** as well - we’ve introduced Sherlock and Mycroft’s parents [for instance]; I don’t think they’ve ever been seen in any adaptation - so there are lots of surprises to come.”
> 
> “Some of them are based much more on the original stories than others, but the bulk of His Last Vow … **most of it is new**. Most of The Great Game, The Blind Banker, they are new stories. We have never really thought about it in that way. **We pick and choose bits and pieces** and sometimes, as a rule of thumb I’d say **the original story could make the first 15-20 minutes of a 90 minute episode. After that you are on your own.** **They’re already largely new.** ”

Steven Moffat repeatedly trashes the idea of “authenticity” to ACD:

> “The great thing … [is] **we can do it any way we like. We can change the rules** ; we can shock you with what we do. **So don’t assume that we are going to do everything according to the rulebook. We are at times throwing it away.** So it might be frightening - brace yourselves for shocks.”
> 
> **“Authenticity is for textbooks.”**

You don’t have to agree with him, but he’s clearly _not_ beholden to being “true to ACD.” He thinks that’s a stupid idea.

If you’ve actually read ACD, the stories are pretty dull as mysteries. As I’ve said, there’s little character development, and the same thing happens in every one. The mysteries are definitely not up to par with today’s standards - very rarely does Holmes even actually _solve_ the mystery: he just pokes around until the criminal/housekeeper/someone says “I think the best hope for justice is if I tell you everything.” [**_The reason Sherlock Holmes is still popular is because of the relationship between Holmes and Watson._** That’s the part Mofftisson care about, and that’s the part they’re interested in exploring](http://skulls-and-tea.tumblr.com/post/111307780541/interviewer-the-character-of-sherlock-holmes-is):

> “… the heart and the soul of [ _Sherlock Holmes_ ] isn’t just Sherlock Holmes. That’s really, really important. It’s the friendship between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson … [You fall in love] with the fact that they adore each other …” (Steven Moffat) 

**Mofftisson manipulate and rewrite the rest of ACD canon to enhance that relationship** : [John’s wife is a villain](http://loudest-subtext-in-television.tumblr.com/post/79041544289/m-theory-mycroft-moriarty-and-magnussens); [Mycroft and Sherlock’s relationship echoes Sherlock and John’s](http://wellthengameover.tumblr.com/post/102405210957/this-is-mycroft-right-before-he-says-also-your); [Jim tries to burn Sherlock’s heart out using John](http://wellthengameover.tumblr.com/post/100624299225/sherlocks-heart-hasnt-been-burnt-out-yet).

This is not really a retelling of ACD (although you could certainly say that this Sherlock is much more like ACD Holmes than many). **BBC is, in fact, not very similar to ACD at all.** It’s a story with a beginning, middle, and end, which ACD never had. Mofftisson have _already changed the_ _basic structure of the story_ from episodic to plot-arc. This is a fundamental change in the way the story is written because there’s now an end-point. ACD didn’t have an end-point. He tried to end it several times and kept bringing it back. **Because it has a story arc instead of episodic, there are some innate things the story now contains, mainly:[there’s a main villain (Jim) to be defeated at the end](http://wellthengameover.tumblr.com/post/102826408929/jim-is-alive), and [the main relationship (Sherlock and John’s) has to end up somewhere](http://wellthengameover.tumblr.com/post/101121024682/the-johnlock-arc). **

**Author's Note:**

> Transcribed from [my meta blog on tumblr](http://wellthengameover.tumblr.com/my-sherlock-meta). Much more there.


End file.
